South Shore Children's Museum staying put at Hanover Mall

What the Hanover Mall may look like in the years to come may be quite uncertain, many of the independently-owned businesses don’t appear to be jumping ship for the time being.

The South Shore Children’s Museum has found a niche market as a safe and fun environment for youngsters that has been made possible thanks to the relationship it has had with mall management.

The South Shore Children’s Museum came in for a “trial opening” in August 2013 with the mall donating the space for the month, which was a success, according to director Juvy Hartweg. This led to several lease extensions and three location changes throughout the mall.

“We have moved simply because we are growing and we needed to expand with more exhibits,” Hartweg said. “We wanted to make sure that people visited the museum and where what you consider a destination location. We wanted people to come to the mall specifically for us and were part of people’s daily plans. It’s been a blessing honestly because the mall’s facilities obviously didn’t need the kind of work that many of the other facilities that were being offered to us needed.”

She refers to their partnership as being “mutually beneficial,” as this allows the mall to keep shoppers an extra hour or two as parents allow their kids to play outside of the house without worrying about the elements. In turn, the South Shore Children’s Museum was able to build its clientele in the meantime, which she describes as one of the hardest parts of opening a children’s museum.

“It’s a great choice by the mall and it shows that they are committed to community,” said Hartweg. “When we came into the mall, even though it wasn’t free, our rent was substantially reduced so it would reflect our operations. They have been very fair and we’ve been able to sustain the museum on general funds with admission only.”

Though the mall’s plans for the future are not certain at the moment, they have announced they are at least 12-to-18-months away from beginning any serious construction on the property.

“Our goal is to focus on what’s here now, what else we can bring in and what businesses we can bring in to fill in the spaces of some of the national retailers who are no longer there,” said Hanover Mall General Manager Ed Callahan. “There are a series of tenants whose deals come up at the end of this year or early next year. We will be trying to do short-term deals where we will do a one-year extension of the lease. We want them here, we know they can make money and be profitable. We will work with them to make sure they are profitable. We want to make sure that we guiding everyone until PREP tells us that we are ready to do some demolition.”

For more information about the South Shore Children's Museum, visit southshorecm.org.